The tubs of yoghurt with more sugar than a bowl of ice-cream

By Sam Downing| 2 years ago

The worst yoghurt offenders are equivalent to downing 7.5 teaspoons of sugar per serve.

Yoghurt is a nutritious and healthy snack, but it depends on the type of yoghurt — and the worst offenders are equivalent to downing 7.5 teaspoons of sugar per serve, according to a new analysis of popular Aussie brands.

Research from the health campaign LiveLighter has determined that more than half of yoghurts sold in Coles and Woolworths have more than three teaspoons of sugar (about 12g) per 100g.

Many of the other most sugary yoghurts are flavoured with fruit like passionfruit, mango and fig. However, fruit yoghurts aren’t all sugar bombs — several of the least sugary yoghurts included the likes of strawberry and coconut.

It’s important to note that sugar isn’t necessarily bad — even the healthiest possible yoghurt will still contain some sugar in the form of lactose, which occurs naturally in dairy foods. The problem is added sugar which is often heaped into processed foods.

“Unfortunately in Australia, food manufacturers aren’t required to specify how much added sugar is in their products, which makes it really difficult for shoppers looking for a yoghurt with no or little added sugar,” McAleese said.

“As a general rule of thumb for fruit-flavoured yoghurts, check that the total sugar content is under 12g per 100g – 6g of that is likely to be lactose, while up to 6g may be fruit. Anything more is likely to be added sugar.”

Heart Foundation Victoria CEO Kellie-Ann Jolly recommended that buyers should favour reduced-fat Greek, natural or plain yoghurts, which have less sugar than the flavoured varieties.

McAleese said yoghurt buyers are being hoodwinked by food labels and advertising that promote sugar-laden yoghurts as low in fat, diet, natural and high in probiotics — which doesn’t give a clear picture of their nutrition profile.

“It can be really confusing for shoppers to know which ones are genuinely good and which are desserts in disguise,” she said.

(Food labels are notoriously misleading. A smart rule to live by: pay attention to a food's nutrition information panel and ingredients list. Any other claims on its packaging are marketing spin.)